ISIS claims responsibility for Egypt church bombing

From Youssra El-Sharkawy Cairo, Dec 14 (PTI) The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at a Coptic Christian church here during a Sunday mass in which 25 people were killed, describing the attack as a war on "polytheism".

From Youssra El-Sharkawy

Cairo, Dec 14 (PTI) The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at a Coptic Christian church here during a Sunday mass in which 25 people were killed, describing the attack as a war on "polytheism".

The suicide bomber blew himself up with an explosive belt, the terror group said in a statement circulated online.

"Let all the disbelievers and apostates in Egypt and everywhere know that our war on polytheism is ongoing, and that the State of the Caliphate ? with permission from Allah the Almighty ? will continue to spill their blood and grill their bodies, so that there is no sedition and the religion is all for Allah," the jihadist group stated, according to SITE.

Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, while attending the State funeral of the victims on Monday, said a 22-year-old suicide bomber called Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa was behind the attack.

He said that four persons including a woman were arrested.

Twenty-five worshippers, mostly women and children, were killed and nearly 50 others injured when the powerful blast ripped through the church adjacent to Egypts main Coptic Christian cathedral here during a Sunday mass, the deadliest attack against the minority community in recent times.

The explosion took place inside St Peters Church attached to St Marks Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic pope who heads Egypts Christian minority, in Abbassyia district of central Cairo at around 10:00 AM when the Sunday mass was on. PTI YES CPS NSA

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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